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Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

For the first time in nearly a month, the Michigan football program could get a win today — and this one could last for years.

Woodbridge, Va., defensive end Da’Shawn Hand will use his 18th birthday to announce where he’s going to college. Though many elite football prospects have had scheduled announcements, none of them are like Hand — ranked as Rivals.com’s No. 1 overall prospect in the 2014 class.

That’s why his decision will be televised on the NBC Sports Network at noon and streamed live on rivals.com.

Hand, 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, has Michigan, Alabama and Florida as his finalists and made official visits to all three during the football season.

Mike Farrell, a national recruiting analyst for Rivals, has broken most of the news about Hand during the recruiting period.

His posted his prediction on Wednesday: “I’m going with Michigan here in a much closer battle than people expect. I think Alabama made a really good run at this and Florida’s game atmosphere and fans calling for (Florida coach Will) Muschamp’s head eliminated them. In a race that comes down to academics as much as athletics, the Wolverines win this one and secure No. 1 to go along with No. 2 Jabrill Peppers.”